Self-Rescue For Rock Climbers
Comprehensive Self Rescue Training
Most improvised self rescue skills overlap a lot. The same skills you would use to help an injured lead climber on a big wall are nearly the same as the skills you would use to help someone who fell into a crevasse.
Our comprehensive approach to self rescue breaks rescue into two parts: the fundamental skills that apply everywhere and the context specific nuances that help make them work on rock or on a glacier/ice climb. The what and how and then the why and where.
This course is meant to be the foundation. We will learn the essential skills needed to help a rock climber in a high angle environment and then progress to discussing their situational application in real world settings. We will want to come away with a good understanding of why and when we use these skills not just how to rig them in a classroom context.
If your goal is applying these skills in a winter/glaciated context we still recommend starting with this course before progressing to the winter/glacier specific module. Having the fundamentals down is really helpful before applying them in the more dynamic situation dependent context of snow and ice.
Why Book With Us?
We operate with the #knowyourguide ethos. Good partnerships in the mountains are built from trust, we want you to know who you’re going into the mountains with. We want to connect you with pros who you can build strong relationships with and learn the most from. We want you to know who your going to work with before you pay.
We want you to #knowyourguide and trust they are safe from the get go. We are one of very few guide services who actually guarantee you’ll work with a fully certified guide. Not a ‘AMGA trained guide’ not a ‘long time professional guide’ but a fully certified guide. We only work with the best and you’ll only work with the best.
Upcoming Rock Focused Programs
Trad Climbing For Mtn Athletes | August 29-30 Boulder, CO (waitlist)
Classroom Session: Self Rescue For Rock Climbers | October 6th | $10 MORE INFO
Improvised Self Rescue For Rock Climbers | October 10, Boulder CO
Want more self study? Check out our blog for more niche subjects:
Module Approach
Foundational high-angle rescue skills applied in two contexts
A comfortable dry setting provides a superior learning environment to learn the fundamentals of high angle improvised rescue. If you do not have a strong background in improvised rescue start here before moving to a wet, cold, glove wearing environment.
You will be far more effective in the snow and glacier context after you have built a level of familiarity with these techniques. Having a mastery of the technical fundamentals allows you to focus more on how to apply them across the dynamic variable nature of the snow and ice environment.
In these modules we will spend time practicing techniques as well as discussing their situational application in real world settings. We will want to come away with a good understanding of why and when we use these skills not just how to rig them in a classroom context.
Technical Skills for dry rock
We will cover a variety of rope-work and climbing skills starting with:
- Discussion of common self rescue situations and prevention
- Rescue skills for the second climber
- Escaping the belay
- Ascending to the leader
- Rappelling with an injured climber
- Advanced rappel techniques
- Rescue skills for the lead climber
- Releasing a belay plate, lowering, hauling
- Passing a knot while lowering
Prerequesites
To get the most out of this program:
- Mastery of single pitch climbing systems
- Understanding of multi pitch climbing systems
- Use of a plaquette style belay plate
- Knowledge of climbing knots and hitches
- figure 8, overhand on a bight, clove hitch, girth hitch
- klemhiest, prussic, autoblock
- Munter hitch, mule knot and overhand backup (MMO)
Self Rescue on Snow, Ice and Glaciers
Buidling on fundamental improvised rescue skills we will apply them in the snow.
- Glacier Navigation
- Crevasse and snow bridge formation
- Assessing and approaching a crevasse
- Snow anchor construction
- Descent techniques
- Improvised ascent
- Hauling Techniques
- Patient Considerations
Yes, these courses are best in Colorado in early summer in the high alpine.
Late season in Colorado we have access to high alpine snow that realistically simulates many common snow conditions encountered on glaciated peaks. Its key that you practice in circumstances that reflect the real thing. This is why we don’t offer these trainings until early summer when we have the right snow for them. If you want to ski on glaciers I recommend leaning about glacier safety on real glaciers as the margin for error skiing unroped is very small. We don’t want to focus on rescue skills in this context but avoidance skills. While the skills on these programs are very transferable to a ski context don’t think they replace supervised milage on real glaciers. Check out this program.
Interested?